Darkest Before the Dawn
by Vergil1989 the Crossover King
Summary: A damaged ship, stranded on an unknown world. A lost and desperate crew, their fates uncertain. A woman who would do anything to protect them. And a war brewing at the horizon. What could go wrong? (Will likely be rated M before this is over. T for language and violence.)
1. Collision

**Darkest Before The Dawn**

**by: Nomad-117, Vergil1989 the Crossover King, and Archer 83**

_**Vergil1989; **__We might have to consider coming up with a group name guys lol._

**Disclaimer: **Sadly none of us own anything related to Mass Effect or Star Wars. But we're happy to share our thoughts for free on how epic it would be if they made an awesome little blue baby. - Archer83

Chapter 1: Collision

**2186 CE**

**Sol System above Earth**

**Crucible**

Shepard raised her pistol, just about to pull the trigger as a tremendous crash shook the platform, making her stumble forward with the sound of screeching metal ringing in her ears. Getting slowly back to her feet, Jessica stared at the beaten looking shuttle skidding to a halt mere meters from her. _Great, I'm hallucinating. Must have lost more blood than I thought. _A wry grin pulled at her lips, even as Shepard coughed up a sticky globule of blood. _Either that, or Steve picked a really bad parking space. Hell, I'll run with it, but I have unfinished business to attend to first._ Once more, she raised her pistol at the activation conduit before her, but just as she again tried to squeeze the trigger, she was stopped when a hand fell on her arm.

Much to her surprise, Steve didn't disappear no matter how many times she blinked her eyes and tried to clear her vision. Nor did the grip on her arm as she tried to yank herself free of his grasp, but she was far too weak to put up any real resistance. "Whoa, bad idea Commander! Let's at least get you back to the shuttle. I'll handle this. You're sure wrecking that red glowing conduit is a _good _thing, right?" Shepard gave the man a withering glare as he quickly dragged her back to the shuttle. "Just checking." Gently setting the injured woman down, Cortez pulled a grenade out of a nearby arms locker. "Be right back. _Don't _move Shepard."

It was Shepard's turn to hold the shuttle pilot back as she grabbed for the back of his uniform before he could clamber out of the shuttle again. "Wait….get Anderson….deserves a proper burial."

As much as Steve agreed with her, they didn't have time. He had to save his commanding officer and send the Reapers back to whatever Hell they crawled out of, even if that meant leaving her mentor, and one of the Alliance's greatest heroes, behind. "Alright Commander, but I need my arm back."

Shepard's mirthless grin said it all. "Steve….you really gotta learn how to lie better." Twisting Cortez's arm behind his back with jarring force, Shepard retrieved the fallen grenade and shoved the surprised pilot towards the cockpit. "If I'm not back in sixty seconds, clear the hell out Lieutenant!"

She only made it three steps before she noticed that the previously forgotten elevator came back up. She readied herself for the inevitable and primed the grenade in case it transported husks or other kinds of threats. She almost burst into tears when she saw that it was a heavily breathing Anderson who was having trouble just trying to remain on his feet, a battle he lost as he fell on his knees and began to cough up fresh blood.

"Steve! Get him some medi-gel! NOW!" She ordered sharply, how could she have been so sloppy? She asked herself, she almost left her friend and mentor for death. An unforgivable sin in her eyes.

"Get to the... shuttle, dammit!" Anderson growled, his eyes narrowing as Shepard limped over to the barely conscious marine.

"Not… without you, Anderson. We leave no...one behind." Shepard said disturbingly weak, the blood loss finally taking its toll.

Cortez wasted no time running towards the grievously wounded pair, helping Shepard drag Anderson between them to the hatch. Ripping the armed grenade out of Shepard grip, somehow giving her a expression of simultaneous betrayal, annoyance, and admiration. He threw it towards the red glowing machinery in disgust after activating the timer, giving them sixty precious seconds to get out of the blast zone and back onto the Normandy. Without even wasting a split second to glance at them, Steve tossed two doses of medi-gel at Shepard, one for her and one for Anderson, before he made his way to the cockpit.

"Here goes nothing." Steve muttered as he dropped into the pilot's seat and jammed the thruster control to full. His former flight instructor would have had a heart attack if he had seen his reckless take off, but there was no time for easing into it. Ten seconds later, they were away from the platform, ten seconds after that, he was headed straight towards the Normandy's open cargo bay ramp. The sound of metal on metal was horrendous as Cortez 'landed' the shuttle against the far wall before it came to a sudden stop after nearly taking out Garrus, who had had to duck at the last moment as the shuttle passed right over the top of his bowed head before slamming into the back of the elevator shaft.

"Are we hit?! What the Hell is going on down there?! I'm getting structural damage warnings left and right!" Joker's voice roared over the PA system.

"We're fine here Joker, just get us outta here!" Garrus shouted back as he slammed the control console for the ramp, sealing it shut before they made the jump to FTL. Once he was sure everyone was alright, only then did Garrus look to the shuttle and Cortez, who had Shepard cradled in his arms. That was all the incentive he needed before he activated his omni-tool and before he put a call in to the medical bay. "Chakwas! Shepard's in bad shape, get a team down here now!"

"You forget about me?" Anderson asked, a weak smile on his face while his hand was pressed firmly against his chest.

"By the Spirits..." Garrus raced over to the wounded man and helped him to a nearby crate. "Never Admiral."

"We just saved the goddamn Galaxy, feel free to call me David, Garrus."

"Yes sir. Er, I mean, David. " Garrus quickly corrected himself, relieved the Admiral only chuckled at his slip up. "...I think I'll stick with sir for now, that just feels odd." Both men turned to look at a distraught Liara.

"How are we supposed to get them up to Chakwas? The elevator is damaged beyond repair." Liara said as she pointed to what remained of the elevator shaft and where the shuttle's nose was currently residing.

"Lift her with your biotics if you have to! You can start by moving the shuttle out of the way!" Garrus shouted back as he grabbed the front of the biotic's skintight suit before turning to Cortez. "Set her down, get whatever medical supplies we have, and we'll try to stabilize her here."

"Prepare for FTL jump!" Joker shouted over the intercom, whatever the crucible was doing had already reached them as red lighting seemed to flicker at the hangars walls. With an unnatural jerk, they jumped into FTL, which apparently only caused more problems. "EDI! We might want to reconsider this idea! The ship's tearing itself to pieces!"

"The drive core is goin' bloody crazy!" Shouted Ken over the PA, only confirming how screwed they were about to be. "She goes up, we all go up!"

When EDI looked over at Joker a moment later, he knew they were in trouble as he read unmistakable worry in her synthetic gaze. "The Crucible has fired. The energy output is following us through FTL. If we don't leave soon, it'll short out every system, leaving us stranded until and _if _help arrives."

"Exciting FTL! I repeat we are exiting FTL!" Shouted Joker with uncharacteristic panic in his voice. "Oh SHIT! Big ass planet in front us! Where the hell did it come from?! Prepare for uncontrolled atmospheric entry in thirty seconds folks! It was nice knowing you guys." A barely conscious Shepard blinked in surprise at the raw emotion in the eternally snarky pilot's voice. "I love you EDI. ... Shit, is my mic still on?"

"It was, but I doubt anyone cares." EDI replied, her hand finding Joker's shortly before everything went dark.

**24 BBY **

**Mid Rim Chommel sector**

**Sector Capital Naboo**

"What happened?" Captain Panaka demanded to know from the various technicians via comlink, everything had been quiet until warning klaxons started to blare. If not for the single blip on their radar screens, he would have assumed that the Trade Federation had returned for a second blockade.

"We're not sure, sir. A ship of unknown design suddenly appeared in lower orbit, we don't know how our scanners could have missed it." The technician on the other end said, confused, before adding. "By our estimations it will crash a few clicks outside of Theed. The few images we captured of the ship revealed that the hull was damaged in various places. If the crew is still alive, then they will be severely injured after the crash, _if _they survive at all."

Panaka frowned, the safety of the queen and her court was his main priority, but he already knew that she would want to help any survivors. With that in mind, he began to issue orders. "I want two of our starfighters following the ship in and circling the crash site. I'll lead the rescue team myself, prepare the infirmary for wounded ASAP." All of this he issued on the move as he made for the nearby hangar bay.

Panaka looked at his nephew Gregar Typho before issuing his final order before his departure. "Captain Typho, inform the Queen of this situation immediately, I will contact her as soon as I know more."

Typho saluted and ran off towards the throne room, Panaka himself ran towards one of the readied speeders. If they wanted to arrive at the estimated crash site shortly after the impact, then they had to act fast. But he couldn't suppress the surge of pride he felt when the men and women of his security force moved with discipline and skill. He had trained many of them personally, not an easy task for normally pacifistic people. The failed blockade by the Trade Federation had changed things, some would argue for the worse, but the attack by the Federation had made them him realize how vulnerable they were.

On his command, three of the patrol speeders accelerated towards the provided coordinates. It wasn't long before they could see the ship pass over them, even with the naked eye they could see multiple hull breaches. Whoever was navigating the ship was apparently still alive as they could see that the ship tried to slow down before impact. The ship sailed over a nearby hilltop, before disappearing from sight. They could still hear and feel the impact though. It seemed that despite the pilot's best efforts, the ship still had hit the earth with tremendous force.

Panaka grimaced, if there were any survivors then they would surely be in a very bad shape, to say the least. After such an impact, it was far more likely they would find broken bodies and scrap metal than survivors.

Still, he had seen many unbelievable things in his career, the time when a nine year old boy had destroyed a Trade Federation flagship came to mind. He shook himself out of his memories, he was on a mission, he didn't have time to reminisce about the past. At that moment, his speeder cleared the hilltop and enabled him to clearly see the ship for the first time.

_Their particle shields must have been activated, otherwise we wouldn't find much more than scrap metal. _Panaka thought while he surveyed the ship, it showed no resemblance to any known ship type he knew of. From the obvious cannons at the bow, it was clear that it was a warship of some kind. But before he proceeded, he would have to contact the Queen. Although he was still certain that she would want him to proceed with the rescue mission, he wanted to be sure. "Your Highness? I'm at the crash site. The ship looks relatively intact despite the damage she's suffered from a previous engagement. Do you want us to proceed and look for survivors?"

"Yes Captain. Please, be careful. Don't take any unnecessary chances. But, if they pose no threat to you or your forces, avoid antagonizing them. I want to know how they came to be here as soon as you can find the answers."

"Of course your Majesty. Be gentle unless provoked is my motto." Captain Panaka replied, a slight hint of humor in his voice which disappeared when one of his men cracked a smirk at the easy banter between the queen and himself. Jamillia was a good woman, and while he had been close to Padme Amidala, her successor was just as able as Naboo's current ruler, and just as compassionate. Even so, it took men like Panaka to keep the peace, and keep the peace he intended to do as he lead his team to the beached ship before them.

"Severe damage to the hull sir, looks pretty bad up close." That was an understatement. From a distance the vessel had looked banged up, but it hadn't looked as if a pack of rancors had clawed and torn at the hull. There were burn marks which criss crossed the mostly black and grey hull, impact craters, and a number of exposed wires and power conduits that looked as if a massive power surge had shorted them out. Whatever had happened to this once proud vessel, it was clear that if there was any hope of salvaging the rest, all of the circuits and wiring would have to be ripped out and replaced with all new parts. The problem with that though was that he hadn't seen anything like this vessel before, and wasn't sure they'd be able to save it.

All that ceased to matter as the airlock door opened the moment one of Panaka's men got close. The first thing he saw was a damaged droid, but it only took him a second to realize the silver bot was unlike any droid he had ever seen. For one, while some droids were designed to look humanoid in appearance, this particular one was far closer to the human female form than any he had ever seen. For another, when she saw him, she tried to stand to her feet and let out a small grunt of pain as her right leg buckled and shot out sparks. "I require your assistance. Please. Jeff appears to be wounded." She pleaded, actually _pleaded_, something he had never thought a machine was capable of as she tried to stand once more, only for her leg to fail her again.

Panaka didn't ponder that particular puzzle for long, as he took one look at the pilot, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the even rise and fall of the man's chest. He nodded his head to the droid, waving a medic towards the unconscious pilot before turning his attention elsewhere. If he had paid another second of notice to the machine, he would have seen the sheer relief in her synthetic silvery eyes. "Move! Check for other survivors." Panaka shouted to his people, a quick glance down the hallway revealing that most of the crew was dazed or unconscious, slumped over railings or sprawled out on the deck.

BOOM! Panaka and his team turned, and froze as the biggest alien most of them had ever seen came thundering up the damaged walkway, an equally large and fearsome looking weapon in his massive arms. It roared something in its own guttural language, eyeing them all as potential enemies to be crushed under his boot.

Panka yanked a stunned private behind the bulkhead next to him just before another thunderous boom sounded in the confined space and the edge of their temporary cover exploded outward. "Cease fire! We are here to help you!" He yelled, in the hopes that it would understand him. In return, the strange alien shouted again, this time sounding even more agitated.

"Why don't you play nice and tell your men to lower their weapons. Or I can let the pubescent krogan with the big gun do it for them. That might be more fun." How she got there, Panaka never knew. What he did know was that he had never heard the woman's footsteps, or realize she was there until a glowing orange blade appeared at his neck right before a blue shimmer outlined a black robe and a pale face underneath before she disappeared again. The point of her blade was still pressed against his throat, even if he couldn't see it. He could still feel it as the tip poked at his bobbing adam's apple.

"Do it. Lower your weapons." _This is all too familiar. _ He was here to help these people, not to pick a fight, even though these new arrivals didn't make it easy. For the time being, he kept silent about the pair of starfighters that circled above them, who could reduce this ship to molten slag if necessary. As their weapons clattered to the deck, Panaka tried to reason with the woman holding him at knife point. "Just relax, we're a rescue party. We're here under Queen Jamillia of Naboo's orders to search for and assist any survivors among your crew. We're here in peace."

"Never heard of Naboo before, but let's say you're telling the truth." The Captain noticed a hint of desperation in the otherwise confident woman's voice. "How do I know you won't kill my friends the second I let you go?"

"Kasumi, we don't have time for this! If these guys are willin' to help, I say we let 'em!" Another of the crew shouted as he pushed past the giant lizard. Panaka was again surprised by the sheer size the man had on his own men, but he didn't get a chance to wonder on it as the human started speaking. "Normally this is the part I'd introduce myself, but we've got wounded, some in real bad shape. If you're really here to help us, fine, otherwise I'd clear out before Lola gets up here."

Panaka waved his men forward, giving the large human a nod before quickly relaying orders for additional medical supplies and support staff. "Looks like you people got yourselves out of one nasty karking mess, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Oh good. My knight in shining armor arrives not a moment too soon. Remind me to tear your clothes off later James." The woman who had held him at knifepoint, having ignored her captive's comment completely, said before Panaka heard her fall to the deck, her strange cloaking device deactivating about the same time. It was only then that the foot long piece of railing that was sticking out of her right side was revealed, as well as the large amount of blood that had accumulated on her skintight black bodysuit.

"We need a medic over here! NOW!" If Quarsh felt any hesitation, kneeling next to a woman who had nearly slit his throat moments earlier, it didn't show on Panaka's face.

"Not so loud." 'Kasumi' grumbled as she lowered her head against the wall. "Can't you see I'm trying to get some shut eye here?"

"Not on my watch you aren't." Panaka said with steel in his voice, he knew that if she closed her bright almond eyes now, there was a chance that she would never open them again. He was not about to let that happen as he dug in his uniform for the emergency vial of bacta he kept on hand. "Hey! No napping on the job." Grinning at the half conscious woman when he noticed her holding a blue vial of viscous fluid in her right hand. "Sticky fingers huh?"

"Yep. I'm a kleptomaniac, what can I say? It goes with the territory of being a master thief." Panaka could only shake his head in amusement as he took back what was his, preparing to administer the bacta before he was rudely pushed aside by one of her companions.

"I'll stay with her until your men get here. Just worry about helping the rest of our people." The one they called Vega said as he put pressure on the wound in an effort to stem the flow of blood around Kasumi's wound while he dug in his armor for something. When he found what he was looking for, Panaka raised an eyebrow when the big man slammed a injector into the girl's side and pushed the plunger down. The bleeding slowed down almost immediately, while a white foam like substance hardened around the wound, further sealing the point of entry.

Panaka stared in astonishment for all of two seconds he allowed himself, trying to give the wounded woman in front of them his best reassuring grin before working his way further into the damage deck. All the while he felt the gaze of the giant lizard on his back, the massive creature seemed to be itching for one of his people to give him any excuse to kill them. "Perhaps you wouldn't mind _not _shooting at our medics when they arrive?" Panaka asked, in the hopes that the alien would move on.

The creature, that looked like a small rancor to him, only growled in response before pushing Panaka forward with his massive shotgun.

Knowing when to muzzle his pride and hold his tongue, Panaka kept his mouth shut and kept moving as he saw more of the same in the command area. People were sprawled out on the deck, but still alive. While a few were in serious condition, the few men he had brought with him were working with the crew that were already conscious in stabilizing them. "Grunt, get out of our way and help carry wounded outside! There's a fuel leak in the lower decks, we need to evac ASAP!" Another human shouted as she and an older woman ran past, a stretcher held between them. She barely took the time to glance at Panaka before barking orders at him as well, pointing towards the simple stretcher. "Get moving and help me with this, the Doc can do more good below decks."

Panaka took an immediate liking to the ravened haired woman as he took up the arms on the stretcher just as the older woman ran back the way they had come. "Who are you? What happened to your ship? Were you attacked by pirates? Trade Federation maybe?" He asked as he looked down at the wounded crewmember on the stretcher, and had to blink when he saw it was another alien species he had never seen before. She was blue, dressed in a red, skintight bodysuit that was cut low in the front. Even with several burn marks and lacerations marring her otherwise beautiful skin, he got the impression that she was just as battle hardened as most of the crew he had seen already.

"I don't have time for twenty questions. Now shut up and move your ass." The woman snapped at him, her glare promising something highly unpleasant if he questioned her orders. Considering that she had just survived a crash he could understand her bad mood.

Something in the woman's intimidating brown gaze and equally fierce tone reminded the veteran officer of his days in basic training. "Yes ma'am."

"Smart man." The woman quipped as they disembarked the vessel, having to take a moment to adjust to the sudden change of light as they left the ship. With the noonday sun overhead on the beautiful and serene plains of Naboo, even the battle hardened woman had to take a second to pause and stare. "Real trees. Never thought I'd see them again."

Panaka ignored her for the moment and activated his comlink. "I need some engineers here, tell them to bring as much equipment as they can to fix a fuel leak, and a few astromech units, ASAP." That taken care of, he turned towards the woman and attempted to make a little small talk, which never had been one of his strong suits. "They don't have trees where you're from?"

"Get moving." She didn't bother to wait for him to respond before she led the way to where the rest of the vessel's crew were being laid out. By then, more men from the nearby city had shown up, and were doing their best to tend to the survivors with the ship's CMO barking orders. "Fair warning." The woman gave Panaka a grateful nod before gesturing towards the older woman. "Don't piss off Doctor Chakwas right now, or well, ever, not if you want to stay conscious."

"Thanks for the tip. Captain Quarsh Panaka, Royal Naboo Security Forces. " Panaka held out his hand to the formidable woman, who was clearly military.

"Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams. Systems Alliance Marine and Council Spectre." Ashley replied as she grasped Panaka's hand and all but squeezed his fingers into dust. "Thanks for the assist Captain, but we aren't done yet. We still have good people trapped in there."

"Then lead the way Commander." Panaka said as Williams led the way to another hull breach, which allowed them access to the crew deck and hopefully, the lower areas.

If the hull and upper decks of the strange ship looked to be in disrepair, the lower decks barely resembled anything like an active combat vessel. If anything, Panaka immediately thought of one of the many scrap yard planets he had heard about, crammed into the lower decks of the ship before him. The thought of anyone having survived down in the depths was hard to fathom, yet just like in the upper decks, there were no dead to contend with. The moans and cries of the wounded were thick in the air, but at a glance, Panaka gave them good chances of getting out of this mess in one piece, which was by all accounts, a miracle in its own right.

"You fuckers touch me and I'll rip your balls off and sell them to Grunt!" Panaka had to fight the strong urge to duck behind something when a crate slammed into the ceiling, surrounded by a blue iridescent glow as a half naked young woman kept his men at bay. Her entire body glowed with the same blue light, and from the murderous rage in her eyes, he believed she'd carry out her threat. Just as he was about to turn to Commander Williams, she had already run ahead, shoving her way past the rescue crew. To his utter amazement, the violent woman calmed almost immediately. "Bout time you showed up Williams! Tell these pussies to back off so I can clear a path to Engineering, unless they want to wind up as smears on the deck! It's all the same to me."

Glancing at the deep cut in the enraged woman's leg, Panaka was surprised she could still stand, let alone do a very good impression of death incarnate, as Williams spoke to her in a surprisingly soft voice. "Jack, the only thing you're doing is getting that leg looked at. Now shut up, sit down, and let Panaka's boys take care of it while we get that debris out of the way. I promise, we're not leaving anyone behind."

"You better not Commander Tightass. We came too far to lose anyone now." Jack growled, but any hostility that had been in her voice was gone as she spoke to the commander.

"Be nice Jack." With that lighthearted admonishment, Williams gestured for the terrified medics to approach their less than cooperative patient.

"Don't worry boys. I don't bite. Much." Jack's brown eyes lit up when she saw a small injector in one of the men's shaking hands and quickly snatched it from his grasp before stabbing it into her injured leg. "Well _ssshhhiiittt_. That's the stuff...you guys got any red sand? I need a damn chaser." When she saw Williams' disapproving glare, Jack quickly changed her tune. "I'm kidding Williams. Haven't touched that shit since I got out of prison." When the officer's glare only intensified, Jack amended that. "Fine, since I started teaching those little whiny bastards at Grissom, okay? Didn't want to set a bad example."

"You're a teacher?" One of the medic's asked with a disbelieving gasp.

"Yeah, what's it too you pal? Think I don't look the part, covered in art? Well fuck you and your mommy, princess." Jack growled at the medic with a murderous glare.

"Come on, she should be harmless now that she knows they have decent painkillers." Ashley said amused, although her eyes and posture still betrayed how tense she really was.

"Fuck you too _Ashley._" Jack snapped back, completely ignoring the hard, almost cold stone glare Williams shot back for the use of her full first name.

"I'm gonna let that one go since you're drugged to the gills." Ashley replied, her voice dead calm while her eyes promised a very slow death if Jack continued to press her luck.

"Um, Commander? Little help?" Panaka asked, having kept one amused eye on the women while he assisted his people with clearing a path to the lower decks. With the elevator shaft mangled, they had to rely on access hatches, of which only two were still in relatively good shape.

"Hey _Aasshhhllleeeyyy, _watch yer ass, haha!" With an over exaggerated wave of her glowing arm and a slight grunt of effort, Jack literally swept aside the last of the debris covering the hatch. If anything, she flattened it against the sides of the hatch, and made the passageway wider at the same time. "That's right bitches, I am a motherfunkin' biotic goddess!" With that proud, slurred declaration, Jack fell to the deck as two medics dared to catch her, the drugs in her system having finally kicked in.

Panaka could only shake his head as he followed Commander Williams into the access hatch. "Well, that was...different." _And I thought fighting beside Jedi was strange. At least they didn't light up like some kind of human torch._

"That was her holding back, way back." Ashley said with a shrug as she kicked at the grate in front of her before it finally popped free.

"Good to know. You're just chock full of helpful advice, aren't you?" He said while following her down the hallway.

"I can also shoot you between the eyes from one hundred meters. Just sayin'." She shot back, he noted the thinly veiled threat with a shrug. Why did these people feel that it was necessary to threaten him and his people the whole time, he wondered.

"Ah will nay leave you to have Chakwas snap my arm back into place. Now shut your haggish hole and hold still. This bloody seam will tear again if ya don't quit yer fidgeting!" Someone could be heard shouting around the next corner.

It was when Ashley and Panaka rounded said corner, that he met his third unknown species that day. The female alien shouted something at the man in her native language before turning towards them.

His companion kneeled down next to the wounded woman and checked her over, she was obviously relieved to see that her friend only had a few broken ribs and a suit tear. "Good to see you're okay, Tali, Ken. Where are Adams and Gabby?"

"Further in lass. They're fine, if a bit shaken up from our rough landin'. Should be used to that by now though, after flying with Joker all this time." The man identified as Ken said, and grimaced when a fresh wave of pain hit him.

"Tell me about it." Ashley said with a small smile, but he could see that she was just putting on a brave face for the rest of the crew.

The newly identified 'Tali' yanked Ken by his good arm towards the newly cleared hatch, he deduced from her body language and her her tone of voice that she ordered the man to follow her, and not for the first time.

"Nay without Gabby Ah'm not!" The man protested vehemently, and tried to pry his arm free.

Ashley chose that moment to chop Ken in the back of his neck, knocking the worried engineer out cold while Tali caught him with Panaka's assistance. "Chakwas is outside Tali. I imagine the medbay's pretty trashed. You, help her get Ken out."

"You do realize that I can't understand her?" He felt compelled to ask, the looks he got in return were a clear 'No'.

"Don`t you have a translator transplant?" The female Commander asked bewildered, but before he got the chance to answer the alien woman spoke up again, and this time in Basic.

"I'd modified my suit's external speakers so that they translate into Standard, and by the looks I am getting from you I would say it working." Tali said wryly.

"Good, now get moving!" Ashley ordered with renewed vigor, before marching off to help other crew members.

Only after they were out of earshot did Panaka ask the obvious question. "Is she always so hands on?"

"You have no idea. Thank you for the help by the way. Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy." Panaka shared his name as they half dragged, half carried Kenneth up the shaft between them. "I know Ash can seem a little...blunt, but she means well."

"I got that impression already ma'am." He said honestly, while helping her to drag the unconscious man to a stretcher.

"Bloody gutless... thinks she can sucker punch... get away with it." Ken muttered incoherently as they gently placed him on the closest empty stretcher. "Gabby... gotta go back... get Gabby."

Before Tali could get ten feet from the makeshift infirmary, she froze mid step when she felt a hand fall on her shoulder. Panaka immediately recognized the gray haired woman he'd seen earlier, even as the ship's CMO gave him an appreciative nod before turning her gaze back on her newest patient. "Tali, while I appreciate how eager you are to help the others, you are in no shape to be doing anything strenuous, not with that suit patch threatening to come undone at the slightest misstep."

Tali reached into one of the many well hidden pockets in her suit and pulled out a small silvery roll of something. Without a word, she proceeded, with Panaka's quick assistance, to wrap the sticky material around her waist several times, sealing over the damaged section of her suit. "Satisfied?"

"No, but I suppose it'll have to do for now. If she so much as sneezes young man, you are to subdue her _immediately_ and bring her back here. Do I make myself clear?" The CMO said with blazing eyes that promised retribution if he didn't do exactly what she said.

"Yes ma'am. Am I safe to assume you're the shipboard doctor, Chakwas right?" He asked with a respectful nod.

"Doctor Karin Chakwas, yes. And you must be the good captain that has come to our rescue. Let me be the first in thanking you in advance for your speedy arrival. Now if you'll excuse me, I have far more critical patients to worry about at the moment. _One _sneeze." Karin pointed to Tali for emphasis before heading back to her patients.

"Well then, I have my orders. And, no offense, I plan to follow them to the letter. Something about your CMO scares me more than that young rude glowing woman covered in tattoos." Panaka told the young alien woman next to him.

"Only a fool angers their shipboard doctor." Tali agreed as she led the way back into the scrap maze that remained of their ship.

"Very true. Perhaps we should check on this 'Gabby' your friend was so concerned about next?" He suggested her, without her help he would have no idea where to go.

"I had already planned on it. If there's one thing our Commander taught us, it's not to leave anyone behind." She answered with a certain amount of pride.

"Commander Williams does indeed seem very loyal to her crewmates." He answered honestly, everything he had seen of that woman so far literally screamed military, loyal, and honorable.

It was as they left the access hatch for the second time that Tali gave Panaka a strange look, her silvery eyes narrowing for a moment in annoyance before she remembered her manners. "Not Williams, although she is quite loyal to her friends. I was talking about someone else, someone that brought us all together."

It took some creative hacking of the door controls, but Tali was able to open the sealed hatch in front of them just long enough for her and Panaka to slip through before it slammed shut behind them. The first thing Panaka saw was a tall, mandibled, and spike covered alien in blue and white battle armor, trying to restrain a beaten and battered looking human woman. If he read its body language correctly he would say that it was very worried and at the same exasperated. Once again he was unable to understand its words. It seemed to be half heartedly threatening to bind her wrists.

"Wouldn't do that... if I were you... Garrus. Might make Liara... jealous. You wouldn't like her... when she's... jealous." The battered woman, who in his opinion looked like a horde of wookies decided to use her as a punching bag, answered weakly.

"Shepard! You stupid, idiotic bosh'tet! Listen to Garrus before I help him!" Tali pointed to the human man next to her as she glanced toward another alien woman behind the two. "He doesn't have a subdermal translator, but he speaks Standard."

"I see, you have my thanks for assisting us, and Tali's right Jessica. You need to rest." The woman, who looked to be of the same species as the beautiful blue skinned woman Panaka had helped carry out of the ship, glanced down at the length of electrical cord in her hands before shoving it behind her back. Inwardly he thanked the Force that at least one of these aliens could speak Basic, or as they apparently called it, Standard.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm Liara, but now's not the time." The injured woman, Commander Jessica Shepard, Panaka correctly guessed, said with a smirk instantly causing Liara to blush a deep indigo.

Panaka decided to interfere before things got out of hand. "Ma'am I am Captain Quarsh Panaka, head of the Royal Naboo Security Forces. I have orders to evacuate all survivors and to guarantee their medical treatment. Most of your crew are already outside, they will be brought to Theed for further treatment, we don't have the means to treat them adequately here. I ask you to trust us, your own medical facility was heavily damaged and if I understood some of your crew correctly you have a fuel leak." Panaka said in an effort to get them to trust him, he had seen how they all tensed when he told them that most of their crew was already in his custody.

"A leak? Damn, things are worse than I thought." Shepard muttered more to herself than anyone else, she snapped her attention back to the others. "We have to get the wounded out of here first."

"I already requested an Engineering team to close the leak." Panaka informed them calmly. "But if the heavily wounded are to have any chance than we must transport them now. That includes you ma'am." He said the last part while pointing at the wounded woman.

The three non-human crewmembers shared a quick glance, which he translated into "Should we really trust him?" He sighed, getting increasingly annoyed, did these people have to be so damn stubborn? They accepted their help for the most part, so the person they were trying to protect must have been very important to them to cause such a reaction.

"Listen, I can't help you if you won't trust me." Panaka said to them, he chose the direct approach in hopes of them opening up.

"I apologize… um Captain Panaka." The blue female said in an uncertain tone. "We meant no disrespect, we just don't know if we can really trust you. We had unpleasant experiences with such situations before." A pained groan caught her attention as Liara held up a hand. "Please excuse me for one moment. Counc- Admiral, stop trying to get up or I will sedate you. Agian. Your choice."

"Not gonna sit... on my ass... when the ship's being boarded Liara! Shepard's girlfriend or not... I will knock you on your- " It was painfully clear to Panaka that whatever the alien woman had given the man, it hadn't quite worn off yet.

"That's bondmate, Admiral, or will be soon enough. As for who's boarding, they're friends, not enemies. Now please, relax David, unless you want to tear your bandages." Liara said as she pushed a groggy, yet somehow still imposing, older looking human back down to the deck as gently as she could.

Panaka raised a curious eyebrow and decided to switch from the direct to the painfully blunt approach. "Alright then... Listen, if I wanted you dead then we wouldn't be talking. I could have ordered you to be shot down, or told my Starfighters to bombard the crash site with enough firepower to kill everything bigger than bacteria. So could you _please _justtell me the best way to help your people?" He regretted that he had to be that blunt but it seemed that this was the only way to get them to talk, but before either of them had a chance to speak he decided to lessen the impact somewhat. "We are pacifists for the most part, but we too have had some bad experiences, so can we just agree to help each other now and figure out the rest later?"

"Sounds like a pl-" Shepard paused to clear her throat and spat out what Panaka thought looked suspiciously like fresh blood.

"Alright then, first, I respectfully request that you hand temporary command of your crew to your XO."

"You giving me orders already Captain?" Shepard asked as her left eyebrow raised in mild amusement.

"Just respectfully requesting, Commander." He clarified politely but firmly.

The spiky alien in blue armor, Garrus, Panaka reminded himself, puffed out his mandibles in what looked to be amusement before muttering something in his dual flanged voice.

"Done." Tali helpfully translated for Panaka.

"It's mutiny then..." Shepard muttered with a groan while noticeably slumping against Liara. "Shoulda known not to trust you guys."

"Everything is proceeding as I... oops, you weren't supposed to hear that." Panaka could only grin at Liara's cheerful laugh as she wrapped her arms around a smirking Shepard.

"Good, we'll continue to assist with evacuating all of your wounded to the mobile triage unit my people are setting up as we speak. After their stabilized, we'll transport them to a safe medical facility in Theed as soon as we can. I promise." Panaka guaranteed them in an even tone. Just as he was about to lead the way, one of his men ran up to him and whispered in his ear. The grave look that passed between the captain and his man told those behind him all that they needed to know. "I'll be right there." Was all he said before having two of his people help those in the hangar bay as an engineering team arrived. Wielding plasma torches, they rapidly cut through the damaged launch door to give the incoming medical and additional engineering crews easier access to the stricken vessel

The path to what he assumed was their CIC on the mid deck had been cleared at last, and while he questioned the need for some kind of security scanner along their route, that wasn't what his gaze was drawn towards when he shoved his way past the partially forced hatch into the small checkpoint. It was the two human guards that were sprawled on the deck that had his full attention. One of them was dead, the unnatural angle of her head clearly the result of a massive blunt force trauma. The other woman hadn't been so fortunate, having been caught in a localized explosion that had badly burned the right half of her face. She was gasping for air, most of her upper chest having sustained the same level of injuries. Panaka knew she wouldn't make it, but that didn't stop him from kneeling by her side.

Before he could say anything she weakly lifted her left arm and tried to grasp his arm. She drew another shaky breath before she spoke. "Commander? Is that you? I can't see..."

Panaka gently grasped onto the woman's outstretched hand. "Shh, don't speak, save your strength." The veteran officer frowned as the woman flinched at the sound of his voice. "Don't be afraid. Your commander is alive and well. Along with many of your crewmates. Everything is going to be alright. I promise."

"Thank you. Whoever you ar-" The woman convulsed in his arms briefly and then was still.

"A friend." Panaka quietly whispered as he gently laid her on the deck. The sound of footsteps jolted the heavy hearted officer's brown gaze to the woman standing behind him.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known. Rest well Bethany, Sarah. You've more than earned it." Panaka wasn't all that surprised when Commander Williams knelt next to the two and gently pulled their eyelids shut before she turned her gaze on him. "Thank you for being here….for Bethany. No one should die alone, afraid."

**Theed Royal Hospital**

**Observation Deck**

Pulling himself back to the present, Captain Panaka saw that the blue holographic forms before him were just as astonished as he'd expected them to be. Apparently even Jedi were known to be taken by surprise every now and again, but it was something he hadn't expected with someone as respected as Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi. "Did I really hear that right your Highness? You have a first contact situation right in your own backyard?"

Jamilla nodded her head before she spoke, having linked the call to the hospital so Panaka was kept in the loop. "Their ship is of a unknown design. The crew onboard consist of races never seen before in our galaxy, and underlying principles of their technology is beyond our current scientific understanding. From what our engineers have been able to figure out, it is based on some kind of mass altering fields the likes of which we've never seen."

Kenobi rubbed at his chin, lowering his head in thought. "Interesting... I will personally see to it that Senator Amidala will be informed. We will make arrangements to meet these fascinating guests of yours as soon as possible. Maybe they'll prove friendlier than some people I could name?"

"Any assistance you and the Senator could provide us will be greatly appreciated Master Kenobi." Panaka said as the Jedi nodded and deactivated the hololink. Now he just had to keep the conscious members of the crew from tearing the place apart until Obi-wan and his apprentice arrived.

He walked back towards the windows which allowed him a clear view at the various bacta tanks before entering the medical bay with a heavy sigh. Most of them were being used by the very same people he had just spoken of. His gaze lingered on the two higher ranking officers a little longer than the rest, before his gaze fell on the strange droid. She was being fixed up by one of their astromech droids, her leg open and the inner workings, which were again of a technology unlike any he had ever seen. It was with her help that the gold painted domed mech was able to repair the damage done to her during the crash, but that wasn't the thing he noticed. It was the downright human look of gratitude in the strange, utterly unique droid's eyes that caught the man's attention.

During the entire procedure her gaze never left the one she had called "Jeff", and her hand remained on the transparisteel of his tank the whole time. "Thank you for seeing to the well being of our crew, Captain Panaka." The droid said at last when she turned to face him. "You have my eternal gratitude."

"No need to thank me ma'am, just doing my job." Again, Panaka wondered if he wasn't talking to another human being rather than a simple droid.

"No, if you had simply been doing your job, I have little doubt we'd be locked in holding cells until we were deemed safe to interact with the people of your world. You, as Jeff would say, gave a damn about us. People you didn't understand, people who might have posed a threat."

"Well, I like to think I'm a bit more open minded than your average officer." Panaka was distracted by a rhythmic pounding and looked up to see Commander Jessica Shepard once again glaring at him over her breather and thumping her right fist against the inside of her tank. "Not again... I don't suppose it would help if you explained to her that the bacta treatment should only take a few more hours?" Panaka was using that rapidly dwindling time to think of the gentlest way to tell the Commander of her lost crewmembers. _No captain ever wants to hear that they failed any of their crew. Whether it was their fault or not never seems to matter._ The losses they had suffered during the attack against the Trade Federation droid command ship and the victory over them had required Panaka to make more than a few house calls. He knew loss better than most.

"She hates being confined for _any _medical reason." The ship's CMO stated after setting Kenneth's arm, a small, amused smile on her face as she turned to the Naboo officer. "You can tell her all you like, that doesn't mean she'll listen to you. She rarely listens to me as it is. I've always had to sedate her, to ensure that she recovers properly."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me if her superior officer is any indication." Panaka said as he looked to the other tank, where one Admiral David Anderson was floating in his own vat of bacta, his arms crossed over his chest in what was unmistakably impatience.

"I'll handle informing the Commander of our...recent losses. The last thing I need right now is another patient, Captain." The haunted look in the veteran physician's eyes said it all.

"No, it was my responsibility to get everyone out of there alive. I should be the one to tell her, since I was also present when Private Westmoreland- when Bethany died." He argued back stubbornly, seeing it as his responsibility and he wouldn't take the easy way out.

"You're a good man Captain, but some things are better left among the crew." Karin countered solemnly, and Panaka had to reluctantly agree that maybe the good doctor was right.

"Of course, you're right Doctor, my apologies. She should hear it from one of her friends, not a stranger." Panaka slowly replied, nodding his head in deference to the older woman as she turned to tend to their quarian friend. Tali he remembered.

"You saved her crew Captain, I wouldn't worry about the Commander considering you a stranger for long." She said and looked towards her less than pleased quarian patient. Said patient was warily eying the droids now repairing her suit after Chakwas herself injected Tali with a inoculation cocktail that would have been strong enough to wipe out any known pathogens ten times over.

"How are you feeling? Are you experiencing any discomfort at this time?" One droid asked in a decidedly feminine, calming voice. At least to almost any other patient anyway.

Tali wasn't most patients as she pushed the droid's arm away and turned to EDI. "Do me a favor EDI, if any of these rust buckets touch me again, delete their core processors from the inside out." The droid that had been tending to her took a step back.

"I'm sorry Tali, I can't do that." When Tali took a step back and then crossed her arms, all but glaring at her old synthetic friend, EDI was quick to add, "That was a joke."

"Joker certainly thinks so." Tali muttered, even as her silvery eyes widened in delight as a relieved EDI turned to see Jeff giving her an over exaggerated 'thumbs up'. Turning to Panaka at last, Tali waved off the pilot, who was no doubt grinning under his breather, before addressing the officer from Naboo. "What do you plan to do with us Captain?"

"That depends on how cooperative you are. But if you want my personal opinion, then you will be most likely allowed to live on Naboo as one of its citizens, if you want to of course."

Turning away from Kasumi's bacta tank, Vega shot the man a grin before he turned back to the thief who looked just as eager to be out as Lola. "From what we saw outside, I wouldn't mind taking a much needed vacation on this rock. Only problem is we left our home in a bit of a mess. If there's a way to reach the Alliance, I know Lola would appreciate the chance to see how things went.

"I am unfamiliar with this "Alliance". Panaka confessed, that was the second time that their visitors had mentioned it.

"Why do I get the feeling we're far more off the beaten path than we realize?" Liara asked, meeting the confused officer's gaze.

Grunt loudly grumbled as he looked up from the tray he had been given by another of the droids. And made his displeasure known by many sharp growls and well, grunts. The so called krogan reminded Panaka more and more of a rancor wearing body armor.

"He thinks the food is crap. Next he'll demand to go hunting, or fishing, apparently. Don't ask what his definition of either is. It usually involves blowing things up." Ashley's eyes narrowed as the young krogan leapt off the medical crate he was using for a seat and started for the exit. "Sit down Grunt, that wasn't an invitation." Grunt took one look at Williams, muttered a what had to be a curse, and sat back down. "Smart boy. I wouldn't have to tell Shepard you pissed off the natives."

DINK. DINK. DINK. Grunt's huge blue reptilian eyes widened at the sight of Shepard pointing at the crate behind him, as a smirking Garrus walked over and patted him on his massive hump. "Too late. Your Battlemaster doesn't look very happy does she? It was nice knowing you Grunt." Panaka almost jumped at the odd dual flanged artificial voice that was emitted from a glowing device on Garrus' arm. "Yeah, it can do that too." Garrus gestured to said device with what Panaka quickly recognized as a sarcastic smirk.

"I would work on better means of translation, but someone won't let me do that!" Tali grumbled with a glare towards the elder human doctor. Who, in response, only raised a single eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"Complain all you want Tali, it isn't going to get me to release you any sooner. And since you decidedly _aren't _resting, I may keep you in my company quite a while longer than I had originally planned." Chakwas managed a half hearted grin as the silvery orbs under Tali's visor instantly vanished a moment later. Chakwas leaned closer the to young quarian as if waiting for something, and was rewarded when Tali cautiously opened one eye, her hand moving towards her omni-tool. "Don't even think about hitting that neural shock program Tali. Mordin might have given it to you as a present, but he gave me the means to lock your suit down. How did he put it again? Most effective means of treating less than patient patient." Chakwas emphasized that point as she tapped at her own wrist mounted omni-tool, earning her an annoyed grumble from the quarian. The fact that Mordin had neither done nor said any such thing didn't stop Karin from giving Tali her best wolfish smile.

"Now that that is cleared up, maybe you could tell the Commander and the Admiral that they can stop with their 'secret' hand signals? We have no intention of hurting any of you, as I mentioned before I believe." Panaka said with a little annoyance in his voice.

"Forgive me for saying so Captain, but would you believe someone at their word if the situation was reversed?" Liara asked, earning her an annoyed grunt from the Naboo officer. Before he could speak though, she held up a hand and put a soothing note in her voice. "But I believe you are trustworthy Captain Panaka. Your people have tended to our wounded, have given us safety and security, and have promised us a place among your people. That is more than we could have hoped for. However, I feel I have to be the first to ask the obvious question. What do you want in return?"

"That's not my place to say. I won't lie to you though, I imagine some of our less...generous senators that claim to work for the good of the Galactic Republic will want to examine your technology at the very least. As for Naboo itself, we want nothing that we don't earn ourselves. Trade and tourism keeps us going, but that's the limit of outside interference we allow on a regular basis."

"I'm guessin' some people might take crashing into one of your forests as more than a little interference." Vega muttered, not taking his eyes off a still unconscious Kasumi.

"We're pacifist by nature, but I wouldn't be surprised if you get a few verbal complaints. A few very loud complaints." Panaka could name a few people in the Queen's council that would no doubt be at the head of those particular people. He considered praying for their survival if they angered the wrong member of the strange crew.

"Um, Captain?" Garrus gestured towards Anderson and Shepard, who were still under the impression they were having a secret conversation. "Should I tell them to stop worrying about your obvious, but inevitable betrayal now?"

"If you would be so kind." Panaka grumbled, having a feeling the following days were going to be the end of him.

Walking up to their bacta tanks, Garrus loudly tapped on Shepard's tank gave his captive audience his best taloned imitation of a human 'OK' hand gesture. When Shepard and Anderson both gave the turian their best death glares, he nodded in satisfaction. "They believe me, about as far as they could throw me, but they believe me." Shepard's glare only deepened when Garrus completed a complex series of combat hand gestures. "Apparently I shouldn't have told her to, 'Keep floating in there, Commander.' I don't think she found it as funny as I did." Garrus's words were confirmed when Shepard shot him a rude one fingered gesture. "Don't need any translation there."

"Indeed." Panaka didn't know what it meant, but he knew a rude gesture when he saw one.

_End Notes; __**Vergil1989**__; Begun, the epicness has. This is another idea from our wonderful friend, Nomad-117, so you can thank him for this one._

_**Nomad-117: **__And once again I have to thank my two friends for their willingness to bring it to life. It is going to be a long journey, but it will be worth it. Hope you enjoy, and may the Force be with you all._

_**Archer83: **__Honestly I'm shocked that we never got around to this idea sooner lol. Palpatine won't know what hit him. Send in those reviews so we know whether you want to see Shepard _


	2. Welcoming Party

**Chapter 2: Welcoming Party**

**Theed, Naboo **

**Theed Royal Hospital**

**Eight days later**

Ignoring the happy party goers around him, the sound of laughter and the clink of glasses, Panaka kept his silent vigil. He was worried, and not for the obvious reasons he had expected. Casually watching Shepard speaking with some of her crew from a respectful distance, the ex-Republic special forces soldier quietly took the Commander in. While Shepard projected a calm, relaxed determination to her crewmates, Panaka could see the uncertain woman underneath. The one who was in over way her head and knew it.

In the first two days after their mysterious arrival, they had tended to the _Normandy's _wounded. Naboo's people had also arranged proper burial ceremonies for two of their own. Panaka would remember the twin pyres for the rest of his life, not because of the dead crew members themselves since other than their names, he hadn't known anything about them, but because of what their Commander had said during the eulogy. It was the closest he had seen her come to outright tears, even as her green eyes misted over as Privates Westmoreland and Campbell were put to the torch. This was a woman who expected more of herself, to never fail her crew, no matter how impossibly high the odds stacked against her. And the respect and loyalty of that same crew under her command was astounding, beyond anything Panaka could have ever imagined. So tight knit were these people that thoughts of minor worries such as possibly being the only member of their race in this entire galaxy, and for the crew at large, never seeing home again, seemed nonexistent where the well being of their fellow crew mates was concerned. They'd adapt, together, or not at all, and Panaka was willing to bet every credit he had that the chances of them not making it in their galaxy were slim to none.

That didn't make it any easier to see the, albeit well hidden, doubt and confusion in their eyes during the initial debriefings. In the last eight days, they had discovered that every known location he had shown them or told them about meant nothing to them and vice versa. Their Commander had taken the news of apparently being stranded in a completely different galaxy seemingly better than most of her crew, who had mostly cursed or thrown the nearest loose object they could find, among other things. All far more normal reactions in Panaka's humble opinion than the icy calm Shepard had imposed on herself from the moment Doctor Chakwas informed her of their lost crewmates. But after all the time he had spent with politicians who kept everything hidden behind a mask of indifference, he had learnt how to read people, and he didn't need a Jedi to tell him that Jessica Shepard was desperately trying to hold onto something familiar that just wasn't there.

He understood that the main problem was that she had no idea how to guarantee the safety of her crew in this unfamiliar territory, or find a way home, if one existed to begin with. The droid they called EDI, a name that suited her better than Enhanced Defense Intelligence, had been surprisingly informative. She had told him that their vessel, the _Normandy,_ had escaped in the last moments of a battle that had decided the salvation or damnation of their entire galaxy, before inexplicably appearing over Naboo's skies. Now it looked like they would never know who won, since all attempts to contact their home galaxy had met with complete failure thus far. Panaka had the feeling that they'd find a way, eventually.

Panaka had patiently listened to a few of the other crew who had hesitantly answered a few of his questions after EDI had broken the unofficial code of silence that had hung in the air that first day. Panaka slowly shook his head, still having trouble with believing the tale they had told him. In the entire recorded history of their galaxy, no-one had ever attempted to eradicate all advanced life. The Sith tried more than once to enslave and conquer every civilization they could find, but had never attempted to destroy them all together. That, and the Jedi had always stopped them. If galactic history was accurate, then far too many wars had been fought because of the feud between these religions, as some saw the two highly secretive groups. Panaka briefly wondered if the Trade Federation's failed invasion attempt years earlier could have been related in some way. He had heard that the Zabrak they encountered in the hangar was supposedly a Sith, but hadn't given it much credence at the time. As far as everyone knew, the Sith had been extinct for centuries.

"Penny for your thoughts Captain?" Panaka turned to see one of the _Normandy's _crew giving him a sheepish smile as her glance flicked down to her boots before returning his curious gaze. "Sorry to startle you sir, but I never got the chance to thank you for, well, everything I suppose." She replied and rubbed the back of her neck before her arm fell back to her side.

"You're welcome, but I was my merely doing my duty. To be honest, I've lost track of how many times I've said that to your crewmates." He replied earnestly, and looked her over. The last time he had seen her, she had lain unconscious next to the elevator, until one of his men had taken care of her. "It's good to see you out of medical, but I'm afraid I never got your name miss?"

"Specialist Samantha Traynor, sir. We were never properly introduced." She said and offered her hand to him. "I believe you refering to me as 'that injured woman over there' while telling a private Haska to get his shebs moving was our only real interaction so far."

He allowed himself a brief smile before shaking her offered hand. "Captain Quarsh Panaka, but I am sure that someone already told you that." He was going to say more before he was interrupted by the beeping of his comlink. "Panaka here, what's the situation?"

"Sir, the Jedi have arrived. Senator Amidala is with them and she's... not in the most pleasant of moods concerning our security arrangements."

Panaka held back a sigh when he heard the news, Jedi he could handle, but Senator Amidala was famous for her stubbornness. She would undoubtedly insist on seeing the visitors as soon as possible, and knowing her, she would persuade the queen to let her do so within a heartbeat. Some of his apprehension must have shown on his face, because Traynor quickly spoke up. "Bad news?"

"No, not bad news. Senator Amidala, our representative in the Galactic Senate, and two Jedi, um renown peacekeepers I suppose you could call them, have arrived. The Senator is a kind and caring person, but she can be… stubborn. This could complicate things."

"Stubborn? She and the Commander should get along famously then." Traynor replied, a twinkle in her eyes which was set in a face that Panaka found mildly attractive, but he squashed that feeling flat as he led the way through the hospital complex. He didn't fail to notice that even after seven days of being out of the bacta tank, she was still wide eyed at her surroundings and its inhabitants. Despite being a partially isolated planet that didn't prefer a lot of outside interference, they still had visitors from every corner of the galaxy, and as such, the hospital was staffed by more than just humans. "Would it be wrong of me to say that I find this place absolutely fascinating?"

"Not at all." Panaka replied with a chuckle. "I've lived here all my life and I still see things that amaze and astound me." Just as they approached a set of turbo lifts, they were joined by two more of Traynor's companions. The self confessed master thief, Kasumi Goto, and the stoic blue skinned woman he had learned was an asari Justicar called Samara. "Ms. Goto, Ms. Samara." Panaka greeted them with a slight nod of his head.

"Heya Panaka. No female companionship for our dashing hero tonight?" Kasumi asked, her cheerful greeting matched by the spring in her step. It was certainly a step up from the last time he had seen her, a foot long piece of railing sticking out of her side.

"No ma'am. I'm technically still on duty, security for the party."

"Greetings Captain Panaka. I am in your debt." Samara said with a nod of her head, looking in far better health as well. "And Justicar or Samara will suffice. The asari are a monogender species, we aren't technically female, and as such, honorifics are not required."

"I'll remember that. No offense intended, Justicar." He tried to ignore the light chuckle from Kasumi at Panaka's apologetic response.

The ghost of a smile spread across Samara's pale blue lips. "It is a common misconception, and so no offense is taken. I acknowledge that we look the part of your human females, save for our head fringe and skin hue."

"Yup, our Samara here certainly is a lovely shade of blue, isn't she Captain? What color would you say it is? Azure maybe?" Even with her face partially obscured by the robe's hood, Panaka could tell that the thief's lips were uplifted into a grin that encompassed her entire face. Her grin was matched by Samara's slight frown, unaware of the innuendo that Kasumi had dropped between them.

Not knowing how best to answer that apparently loaded question without embarrassing himself or Samara, Panaka decided that distraction was a good tactic. "Indeed, and I think you'll find that there are many species native in this galaxy that are just as attractive in their own unique way."

Without missing a beat, Kasumi grinned up at the captain as they turned corner and continued down the hallway to a private dining area. "Probably not half as deadly as our personal Justicar though. Trust me, you don't want to make her angry. I once saw her rip a Banshee in half, all while wearing that rather distinctive armor of her's. I'm still finding bits of goop in my boots, and I once saw her plucking a bit of it from- "

"Kasumi, I am only going to ask this once. Please end your attempts to get the good Captain to 'flirt' with me. He is clearly uncomfortable with the idea."

"Aww, but it's so much fun."

"Kasumi…."

"Oh fine, party pooper." With that, Kasumi ran on ahead, flickering out of sight.

Panaka was just thankful he hadn't spit out his drink during their exchange and racked his brain for a proper compliment to give the stoic woman. "Um...just for the record ma'am, anyone here would be lucky to-"

"Please Captain, there is no need for you to 'sooth' my ego. I am far older than I appear, and as such, I have outgrown the need for such things. Even so, I appreciate your efforts."

Nodding in relief, Panaka downed his drink in one gulp. "Thank you Samara." The Justicar merely nodded her head in turn before leading the way to the dining hall that had been isolated per the Queen's orders for the crew's use. More than a few rooms had been set aside for them, so that they could become acclimatized to their new surroundings at their own pace.

From his spot by the door, Panaka wasn't all that surprised when Jeff 'Joker' Moreau was the first to open his mouth the moment he and Samara cleared the threshold. Not long after finally being released from her bacta treatment, Jessica Shepard had warned him about the pilot's sarcastic sense of humor. The fact the woman they called 'Jack' and the giant armor plated Grunt had short tempers didn't exactly surprise him though. "Just got Coded huh? Don't feel bad, probably half the crew had a crush on the leather sex goddess at some point."

"Excuse me? Moreau right? I'm surprised you'd speak about the Justicar like that, or that she'd let you for that matter."

"Nah, Samara's just a sexy blue teddy bear once you get to know her. Did I mention the sexy part?" Even when said 'teddy bear' started to glow a dark blue, Joker's smug smirk didn't disappear in the slightest. But Panaka's fears were short lived when she merely walked by and sat beside her fellow asari and the quarian, Tali. "See? Hot, yet harmless, for me anyway. Someone else said that, they'd probably be sponged up by now."

"You are a _very_ brave man, I'll give you that Moreau. Dumb, but brave." Panaka replied with a shake of his head. He thought he had seen everything, yet these people still surprised him at every turn.

"He just knows what he can get away with." Ashley said with a brief grin, her back to the giant window that overlooked the serene city of Theed. "If he had said that about me for example, he'd be hobbling towards one of your med bays with a shattered knee by now."

"And that is why I don't tempt fate. So Cap'n Pancake, what's the news? We getting out of this comfy jail cell anytime soon?" Jeff was momentarily distracted as a pale green skinned twi'lek woman walked by with a suggestive wink. "On the other hand, the view's nice."

"Why, you in a hurry to find a hotel room for you and your sex bot, and that hot two head tailed gal outside, Joker? No offense EDI." Jack was quick to add even as she sneered at the sarcastic pilot across the hall.

"None taken Jack. And if you wanted a threesome Jeff, all you had to do was ask. I'm sure she would be willing if you inquired." EDI replied, and again Panaka was reminded of the simple fact that there was something unmistakably human about the droid when he saw the humor in her synthetic gaze.

"And now I'm suddenly reconsidering _that _idea. You're _way_ too into it, which means she'd likely end up dead in an alley or something. Besides, I'm spoken for..." Joker's olive eyes wandered towards another woman, this one orange skinned and looking more like some type of predator species with sharp teeth and striped appendages around her head.

"Should I get you a cup to drool in Joker?" Ashley smirked at Jeff's expression, which was somewhere between sullen and guilty.

"How about a bucket for the perverted bosh'tet?" Tali added insult to injury, and chuckled lightly along with the turian sharpshooter, who was standing behind her chair with his arms crossed.

"I was going to suggest a swimming pool, but that might be a bit much, even for him Tali." Garrus added with another chuckle.

"Actually, purely in the interests of scientific research, I for one would be more than open to the idea of unique interespecies copulation Joker." Liara said, her blue eyes alight at the idea.

"Ugh, great, of course you had to go and make it sound all technical and awkward Liara. Way to go Shadow Brokeress. You turned hot steamy sex into a boring scientific study."

"I try my best." Liara replied, a mischievous gleam in her bright blue eyes.

"Wait... what?" Shepard, who had been having a pleasant chat about battlefield maneuvering with a few officers who actually knew infantry formations from their asses, instantly excused herself as her eyebrows shot up at Liara's comment. "Did I really miss you talking about sex without blushing Liara?"

"And on that note Lola, I think I'm gonna hit the gym. Ya coming Ash?"

"Vega, how dare you pass up free drinks and call yourself a marine! Have fun getting sweaty James."

"Oh come on Ash, it might even be romantic, you never know."

"Ash. Ash! He wants to bang you." Jeff stage whispered into Ash's ear, smirking as she spit out her drink. "If you don't believe me, I think EDI has the vids from our last party."

"Shut up Joker. And you, you're on Vega." Taking the hulking marine's arm with a wolfish grin, Ashley led him out of the dining hall.

"Careful what you wish for James. Poor bastard won't be able to walk tomorrow." Kasumi snickered, flickering in and out of sight just long enough to be noticed.

"You looked to be enjoying yourself, I didn't want to bother you Jessica." Liara replied to Shepard's earlier question with a grin of her own as she stood and laid a quick kiss on the woman's cheek before she turned to Panaka at last. "I take it you're here to escort us to see the delegation from your governing body, the Galactic Senate, Captain Panaka?"

"Your crew certainly is a very... intriguing bunch Commander." Clearing his throat in an effort to contain his embarrassment at the outright strange conversations that had taken place in front of him, Panaka nodded his head. "And yes, I had planned on giving you and your command staff a bit more R & R before interrupting, but now is a good a time as any if you wouldn't mind."

The redheaded woman turned her head and nodded her at Panaka's words. "I don't see a problem with it. No point in making a bad first impression with your people. Besides, you've been more than accommodating since we landed in your backyard. The least we can do is try and repay some of that kindness." The series of positive responses and nods from the rest of Shepard's nearby crew didn't surprise Panaka in the slightest.

At Panaka's slight astonishment at how easily they agreed to be paraded in front of their delegation, David put a hand on the man's shoulder and looked to the woman that had made him prouder than any soldier he had ever known. "Better get used to it Captain. Shepard's not someone who does anything halfway."

"I got that impression already sir. You must be quite proud of your protege."

"More than you could possibly imagine Captain."

Garrus' distinctive artificial dual flanged voice still managed to convey the turian's sarcasm as walked over and joined them. "So, time to meet the local politicians huh? Great, I can't wait."

"Oh relax Garrus, we're in a whole other galaxy. Keep an open mind." Shepard retorted, an all too familiar gleam in her green eyes as she followed Panaka's lead.

"Right. What could possibly go wrong? It's not like there's an ancient race of machines lurking on the edge of this galaxy they're going to pretend don't exist."

"Like I said, keep an open mind." At Panaka's confused expression, Shepard merely shrugged before saying another word. "There's a running joke among my crew. The impossible happens on a regular basis around me."

"Actually, _regular basis _is usually twice a day, right up there with defying the grim _reaper_." Garrus was quick to point out.

"Several times a week." David muttered just loud enough to be heard by those closest to him.

"And let's not forget all the trouble that just happens to find you." Liara supplied, her mischevious smirk matched by the twinkle in her pale blue eyes. As if to prove her point, she and the rest of their small group saw a woman with a determined look on her face charging right for them, flanked by a young man with a single braid, and an older bearded gentleman who was trying to calm the woman down to no avail.

"Please Senator Amidala, there's really no need to charge into these proceedings! I'm sure your old friend, Captain Panaka was just coming down to meet us in the council chambers." The bearded man said, and looked to his young companion, who only shrugged.

"We're here already master." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Might as well enjoy the festivities."

"Thank you for that astute observation Anakin. And do try not to get too 'festive' this time? Dragging you out of that fountain once was more than enough."

"When you two are done, perhaps you can act the part of peacekeepers instead of comedians?" Senator Amidala grumbled before coming to a halt in front of an amused redheaded woman and her companions. Remembering her place as a representative of the Galactic Senate, Padme lost the scowl and looked up to the older woman with genuine interest. "Do I have the pleasure of addressing Commander Jessica Shepard?"

"Pretty sure I'm the only Shepard here." Shepard grinned and offered her hand to the flustered young Senator. "And you must be Senator Amidala. It's an honor to meet you in person. Captain Panaka and his men have told us a great deal about you, all of it good, I promise. Your policies on galactic stability and peace keeping efforts were impressive." The subtle glance she shared with Liara didn't go unnoticed.

"Please, call me Padme, and I only do what I must to make sure this galaxy doesn't spiral into chaos. On a good day, it doesn't." Padme replied honestly.

"Honest politicians that actually care about their people aren't seen often Senator. In your case, it is praise well earned." Liara stated with a respectful nod of her head before she turned to her two companions. "And you must be Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi, and I believe the term is Padawan, Anakin Skywalker?"

"You know of us?" Kenobi asked, his eyebrows raised in slight surprise at how well informed the strange woman seemed to be.

"Information is something I understand well, and gathering it is a specialty of mine. I simply took advantage of our brief time on this world to conduct... research on your galactic society. Forewarned is forearmed, Master Kenobi."

"I think she has us outflanked Master." Anakin said as a small smirk appeared on his lips, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked between Jessica and Liara with interest.

"What ever gave you that idea?" Despite his slight frown, Kenobi's eyes said he applauded Liara's caution and foresight in using her time productively. "Tell me, Liara T'Soni was it? Did you find anything interesting during your research?"

"I did indeed, but perhaps that can wait for another time?" Liara stated, hoping to turn the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Of course." Padme quickly interceded, before Kenobi or Anakin could cause a diplomatic incident. She needn't have worried since most of Shepard's crew wore matching amused smirks between them, having found the exchange quite entertaining. "While that will no doubt be fascinating, there is no need to rush things."

"What's the matter Senator? I thought you'd wish to be the first to exchange cultural ideas and your views on current events?" Anakin turned to Shepard with a gleam in his eye. "If you don't mind me saying so, Commander, Padme is just a bit tongue tied from all the excitement. It's not everyday you get to meet a new people, let alone several at once." From the subtle but scathing look Padme shot the smug Padawan, Shepard had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at Anakin's jest at his obviously old friend's expense.

"It's alright to feel overwhelmed Padme. If our roles were reversed, I'd feel just as out of my depth. Relax, I wouldn't be talking to you if I didn't like you. And it's just Shepard. I'm only a Commander when I'm on duty. Turns out I'm on a much needed vacation."

"Amen to that Shepard." David agreed wholeheartedly, earning a round of chuckles from even the Jedi among them.

"So, Shepard, has the Naboo government seen properly to the well being of your crew? If you have any complaints about your treatment, please, feel free to share them with me." The Senator asked, having helped her own share of refugees. Not all of them made it, but she was determined these people did.

"There's no need to worry. Your people have been far more understanding and accommodating than I or my people could have hoped given the strange situation we find ourselves in, even for us." Shepard replied with a genuine smile to the young woman next to her, quickly putting her fears to rest, at least for the moment. Their attention soon shifted to the massive reptilian being currently carrying the main course of the buffet in one arm, while ripping into the wild boar with his teeth. "Grunt! Put that down _right_ now!"

"Ah come on Shepard! I haven't had good meat since we crashed on this rock!" Garrus was already chasing after the krogan, giving Jessica a look that screamed 'Sorry Shepard!'.

"I said put. It. Back." Grunt muttered a curse and walked back to the dining hall as Padme gave Shepard an astonished look at how easily Jessica had turned the impossibly large reptile around. "Let's just say that he respects and fears me in equal measure."

"It helps that she assisted him in a rite of passage among the krogan, the name of his species, on their home planet of Tuchanka. It turns out, taking on a giant thresher maw on foot earns you quite a bit of respect among a race of warriors like Grunt." Liara offered in further explanation when she saw their puzzled expressions.

Kenobi was the first to comment on this strange turn in their conversation as they took their seats in the dining hall. Padme, Anakin, and himself took up one side of the table, while Shepard and her companions took the other side. "I get the impression this thresher maw you mentioned would make our rancors seem tame by comparison."

"Imagine a hundred meter long worm with razor sharp teeth whose favorite hunting tactic is borrowing up through the ground directly beneath you. Oh, and they spit massive amounts of highly corrosive acid at their prey. They also have a habit of swallowing entire tanks whole." Shepard said with a shrug as she sat between David and Liara, with Garrus and Tali next to them in turn.

Anakin couldn't hide a small shudder of disgust by the time Shepard had finished. "Sounds worse than a sarlacc, at least they can't chase you."

"Local pest on your home planet kid?" Garrus asked, earning him a nod from the young man. "You got off easy then."

"Yeah...easy." Anakin mumbled to himself seemingly lost in thought, and not a pleasant one at that. Obi-Wan looked at his Padawan in concern. He knew that after all these years, Anakin was still worried about his mother. The fact that she was a slave only added to his worries.

"As fascinating as this conversation is, perhaps we can get down to the matter at hand?" Padme again asked, in an effort to return to the topic they had come all the way out to Naboo. While she was happy to see home again, she wanted to see these talks completed with a peaceful resolution.

Thankfully, she had a like minded counterpart as Shepard looked to her friends, who nodded their understanding in turn. "Where did you wish to start Senator Amidala?" Obi-wan and Anakin didn't miss the subtle look Jessica shared with her friends, or how quickly she returned to the matter at hand without needing to actually say a word to that effect. They were a close knit group of friends and family, or he was sithspawn.

"Well, perhaps it would be best to begin with practical matters first. Such as lodging, protection, basic necessities such as food, water, and living requirements." The last she looked to Tali, having done her own information gathering from the few reports Panaka and the medical staff had been able to put together before their journey to Naboo. "I admit, we aren't familiar with an immunodeficient species, but it shouldn't be hard to come up with something to suit your needs, and dextro amino food will be easy to gather for you and, I believe it's XO Vakarian?" Grinning, Garrus started to suavely saunter over to the politician, only for Shepard to stop him with an amused shake of her head.

"The nutrient paste your people have provided works well enough Senator, but your continued generosity is much appreciated." Tali replied, a grateful look easy to see behind her tinted visor.

"Agreed. Well, for the time being, we can't complain about our current accommodations either. I had planned to head back to the _Normandy _and start repairs as soon as possible. Once she's livable, my crew and I will use her as a base of operations until she's spaceworthy again."

"While I understand you need to repair your vessel as quickly as possible, you don't have to do that Commander. I already talked to Queen Jamillia, she and I are good friends, and she's agreed to give you all the space you need for you and your people."

"It sounds like a good deal to me Shepard." Jessica raised an eyebrow as Ashley spoke up from the nearby wall, her arms crossed and her gaze even with Padme and her two friends. "I love the _Normandy_, but it does get kinda cramped after a while."

"You're-you're _giving _us a place of our own to build a temporary settlement?" Tali asked in astonishment, and Shepard knew she wasn't going to be able to say no to the plot of land, if only for Tali's sake.

"I'm sorry, I think you misunderstand me. There is already a suitable embassy being established as I speak, thanks in part to your ship's CMO and her advice in regards to your species' individual needs. She was quite informative and happy to assist in this endeavor."

"Chakwas, she'll never cease to amaze me." Garrus stated with pride, a pride that was shared by most of the crew.

Shepard couldn't have looked more perplexed if she had tried. "Wait a minute. Your government is building an _embassy_? As in sovereign territory?"

"That's right. Naboo is just far out enough from our galactic center that most people let us attend to our own affairs. And I personally couldn't stand by and let potential new allies and friends feel unwelcome or insecure because of petty political agendas."

"Okay, not to be ungrateful or anything princess, but what's the damn catch?" Jack's rude comment got more than a few glares from the people around them, but the crew just gave collective internal sigh of relief that she hadn't said whatever she had _really _wanted to say.

Kenobi was the first to step in. "Pardon me for asking, but why would we _want _to fool you? Sure, you bring strange technology and unknown species to our little galaxy, but new discoveries are made daily. Yours is indeed the most unusual at the moment, but I imagine we'll forget about you in a few months at most."

"Maybe I should give you a good fuckin' reminder then Robe Boy."

"Easy Jack, let's not antagonize the locals, or terrify them for that matter. You wouldn't want our hosts to think any less of your crewmates or _me_ because of your actions. Would you?" Shepard asked, and again, to the trio's amazement, her words had the rather violent woman calm, and even more astonishing, apologetic, in no time at all.

"Fine, whatever. Thanks for the new digs princess."

"I take it she grows on you?" Anakin asked once Jack had wandered off.

"Just gotta get past the rough exterior. That takes time, but it's worth it, trust me." Shepard replied, and it was Padme, Anakin, and Kenobi's turn to share a subtle look with each other. "I am surprised though, I thought you'd have wanted to take our ship apart for a deal that good. Or at least demand samples of our tech."

"I'm not most senators. As you yourself stated, my policies are to ensure peace for everyone, not a select few. I'd rather you share what you're willing on your own terms than demand anything that isn't ours to begin with."

Shepard had already been impressed by what Liara had gathered on Padme Amidala, but to hear her in person, to see the genuine concern in her brown eyes was something else altogether. She truly strived to create a better galaxy in everything she did, and it wasn't lost on the battle weary group. "I wish more shared your ideas Padme. Maybe our own galaxy wouldn't have been such a mess, even before our war with the Reapers."

"I can only do my best and hope to inspire my colleagues to do the same back on Coruscant. And as long as you remain on Naboo, you have my solemn oath that I will protect your people."

It was a rare occasion indeed when Shepard was at a loss for words, and Padme's continued generosity had her fumbling for a reply. "Um, well, since you've sort of dumped a heaping pile of riches on me and my crew, I'll tell you a little secret Senator. My CMO already shared a handy little medical aid we call medi-gel with some of your personnel. She said it was based on humanitarian grounds, and I couldn't really argue with her. Especially now that you've given so much to us without asking anything in return. I'm sure your people will have finished a report on it in the next few hours, if not sooner."

"Thank you Commander."

"No, thank you. You have no idea who we are, what we've been through, and yet you've done more to restore our hope in an hour than most could have done in years. And I don't say that lightly."

"That's what we're here for Commander, to inspire hope and good relations between new neighbors." Kenobi replied with a grin before he turned his gaze on Shepard. "In all honesty Commander, I do find myself puzzled by something. I know you're right in front of me, yet as far as my...other senses are concerned, you're about as present as a black hole. I can sense your emotions quite clearly, but as for your actual presence, that I cannot see."

"You're referring to your abilities in some kind of energy field called the Force." Liara stated, and both Jedi didn't seem surprised that the blue skinned alien seemed to know about that as well.

"Yes. For instance, I can distinctly feel amusement and mischievous intent directly behind me, but I know that if I were to look there, I would see nothing in the Force itself nor with my other senses."

"You're good." Kasumi said with a grin as she flickered into existence before disappearing, her hand just shy of Kenobi's lightsaber hilt. "Don't worry, I wasn't going to keep it. But I can see Tali eying it from here, and I thought it'd make a nice planet warming gift." And it was true, Tali's gaze was fixated on the strange weapon hilt that was prominently displayed on the Jedis' belts.

Obi-wan was not so eager to hand over his most valued possession. "My lightsaber is _not _on the table."

"Ah come on Master, what harm can she do? It's not like you can't put it back together."

"Then by all means, she can demolish yours my young friend."

Anakin promptly walked over to the suited alien girl giving her a smile and a slight bow before flipping his saber hilt into his hand and offering the device to Tali. "Have fun. Don't worry if you can't reassemble it, I'll be happy to."

Even Padme, who wasn't versed in quarian body language and their society in general, didn't need Commander Shepard to tell her that Tali was nearly stunned into silence as her silver eyes widened in disbelief at the gift she was being given, temporary as it would be. "Truly? I-I wouldn't want to-"

"Please, enjoy yourself. I uh...have a tendency to lose them anyway." At this, Kenobi had to bite back a sarcastic chuckle at Anakin's expense. "But I deactivated the power source, so there's no way you could activate it by accident."

Garrus was quick to point out the obvious flaw in Anakin's thinking, the amused grin on his face all too easy to read even without a Jedi's gift for such things. "I wouldn't count on it kid. Tali's our tech expert. If she can't fix it, it's not broken. Although, usually she has a tendency to rip anything particularly interesting apart before putting it back together, better than before."

Obi-wan stared at the near giddy looking 'quarian' as her species was called, the barest hint of a grin pulling at his lips before frowning at his stubborn young Padawan. "Anakin…..why am I not surprised?" As much as he wanted to be disappointed in his apprentice, he couldn't deny he felt almost as happy as Tali herself was at being given the opportunity to examine one of their weapons.

"I know, I know, my weapon is my life. But come on Master, she looks like we gave her the keys to the Senate Building." Anakin's grin only widened at the sight of his master's usual disapproving frown.

The distinctive snap hiss that followed silenced everyone at the table simultaneously. "Oops. I ah...I think I fixed it for you..." Tali distractedly mumbled as she gazed at the brilliant blue blade reflected in her visor, careful to keep it a good distance from her suit and anyone else around her. "It's a beautiful weapon Padawan Skywalker. Do all Jedi wield them? Also, please turn it off before I manage to breach my suit. Or lose an arm…."

"Just... don't move. And yeah, they do. A civilized weapon for a civilized age..." Anakin said, mimicking Obi-wan's droll voice, while he was honestly surprised that Garrus had been all too correct about Tali's capabilities. "You weren't kidding Garrus. You sure she isn't a Jedi in disguise? Far as I knew, only a Force adept can assemble or fix a lightsaber." With a slight wave of his hand, Anakin reached out with the Force to hit the deactivation stud on his saber, much to Tali's immense relief.

"Um, nimble fingers?" Tali helpfully replied with a shrug as she cautiously handed the deactivated hilt back to Anakin. "In all honesty Anakin, my entire species are accomplished engineers, mechanics, and salvagers. Anything the rest of our galaxy's residents didn't want, we put to use, and I was _always _at the top of my class."

Anakin's interest was immediately piqued as he put his weapon back on his belt with a practiced flourish and a skilled twist of his wrist. "Tali. How would you like to help me tune up our ship? I promise there won't be any more energy blades for you to worry about, and I could explain everything you are not familiar with."

"Lead the way." Before anyone knew what had happened, Anakin and Tali had all but left a trail of smoke in their wake as the door shut behind them moments later. Shepard was the only one who noticed the rather long look the Padawan threw towards the Senator. He managed to hide it, but it was obvious to Jessica that he had feelings for her. It was the same kind of look Liara had shared with her early in their relationship.

Kenobi seemed blind to it as he commented on their sudden disappearance. "Oh dear, it seems I've lost my Padawan to your friend, Commander. Should I be concerned?"

"Depends, how good is he with technology?" Shepard asked, having a feeling she knew the answer to her question already.

"_Shockingly_ good. He put together a pod racer and a protocol droid before he was nine years old."

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid you've lost him permanently. Tali was taking apart geth when she was around that age, and they're far more advanced than most droids I've seen here. Looks like she found her nerdy soul mate already."

"I had that impression Commander Shepard. I will have to politely beseech your brilliant young friend to give him back to me. After they have had their fun of course."

"I wish you luck." Shepard said with a chuckle, which earned her an amused look from Kenobi.

"Oh I can be very persuasive when I have to be."

"I can only imagine." Padme said, interrupting the conversation just as a hint of a wide smile appeared on her face. There were quite a few stories she could share, both personally and about the two Jedi that numbered among her closest friends.

Kenobi sighed when he noticed Grunt carrying a cackling drunken half clothed woman over his shoulder, rumbling with laughter. "Allow me to demonstrate?" It was clear he was asking Shepard's permission.

"If you can get Grunt and Jack to settle down for five minutes, I will officially owe you a drink Kenobi. Maybe even a whole barrel."

"I wouldn't want to embarrass you that thoroughly. We only just met Commander."

"Afraid to put your credits where you mouth is? I don't blame you. Keeping those two out of trouble is like trying to herd cats."

"Oh I'm not afraid, we Jedi simply choose to use restraint when able. Using our abilities for personal gain is against our Code. But if I must, I suppose a small demonstration wouldn't do any harm. Excuse me Senator." With a grin and a nod to the Commander, Obi-wan stood from the table and proceeded to walk towards the very odd pair, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for them to notice him. He didn't have to wait long.

"Outta my wayyy huuman!" The walking tank slurred in irritation when Obi-wan moved to block his path.

Kenobi subtly waved his hand in front of Grunt's huge head. "You will put down the inebriated woman at once."

"Ah, fuckkk off Robe Boy, I can take 'em! Down boy!" Jack wholeheartedly punched the krogan in the face only to get an even louder laugh out of Grunt before his pale blue eyes focused back on Kenobi. With a massive toothy grin, he set Jack on her feet next to him. "Shit, this guy sounds like a total pussy."

"Yup. He looks all squishy too..."

Not liking the way the younger human was eyeing him, let alone her massive companion, Kenobi slowly started to back away while trying to sound confident as ever. "Um...thank you for your compliance. I believe I should go now." He knew he was in trouble when the krogan put a heavy hand on his shoulder, and squeezed tight enough that the man swore he felt something crack ominously in his shoulder. Kenobi once again waved his hand. "You will release me at once." The only thing released was Grunt's drunken laughter as his grip tightened on the man's shoulder. "Commander, I think now would be a very good time for you to have a chat with, Grunt, I believe? I'd sincerely regret having to injure any of your crew."

"It's not him I'd worry about. Have fun." Shepard saluted Kenobi before turning her gaze to David, who only shook his head at the antics that were unfolding. "What? I didn't start the betting, this time."

"No, you only encouraged it, but I shouldn't be surprised by now Shepard."

"I take it this is a common occurrence among your people?" Padme asked as she looked between a now fleeing Kenobi, and a gleeful krogan as he tried to run down the Jedi Knight with Jack a few steps ahead of the lumbering giant.

"Yep." Was all Jessica said as she watched the former smug knight running for his life.

"Ha! Come 'ere fucker." Padme had to admit, the look on Kenobi's face when Jack tackled him to the ground was rather amusing.

"Please madam! Kindly unhand me! I don't wish to harm you!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll do all the handling for both of us whimp." Seeing the lustful look in the woman's brown eyes, Kenobi's eyes widened in terrified realization of what she was after. "I might even not break your kneecaps when I'm done. If I'm satisfied."

"Sorry, not interested my dear." With that, Kenobi waved his hand, and much to Jack's astonishment, she was flung off of the older man and directly into Grunt. Flipping to his feet with surprising grace, Kenobi dusted himself off once he was vertical again. "I am however, quite flattered by your drunken invitation." There was no missing the sarcasm in the older man's voice.

"I'm gonna enjoy this heh heh heh." Before Grunt could take one more lumbering step closer to the man, Jack did her best to shove the krogan back.

"He's mine! Get your own Jerkoff to beat the piss out of."

"That's pronounced Jedi." Kenobi smirked, but his cheerful attitude disappeared when he saw a peculiar blue glow surrounding the young woman before she slammed her head into Grunt's lower jaw, which forced him to let her go. The next moment, Obi-wan was busy dodging her fists which were wreathed in some kind of strange energy the likes he hadn't seen before. "I'm sure we could talk about this in a civilized manner madame!"

"Civilize this!" Jack roared before a wave of dark energy rolled off of her, and directly towards Kenobi when she slammed her hands into the ground in front of her.

Kenobi Force lept out the path of the energy wave, which obliterated the buffet table and half of the bar, as he landed behind the woman. "You most definitely are talented my dear, but you lack focus, and a certain finesse." Obi-Wan commented, he was more than grateful that Anakin wasn't here. His young apprentice would most likely either make fun of him or prove to be far less patient with their guests than himself. _He would have likely subdued her by now, and not in a gentlemanly manner either._

Before Jack could pursue him further, Shepard stood up from the table. It was more than enough to stop Jack and Grunt in their tracks as she glared daggers at them both. "You two have three seconds to help clean up that mess." Shepard thrust her arm out in the general direction of what was left of the buffet table and the bar, wincing when she noticed the twi'lek bartender that was curled up into a tight ball in the distant corner. "Sorry. I'll see to it they pay up, _in full._" Shepard glowered at the pair before adding, "And add an exorbitantly generous tip too."

"Um, thank... you?" The orange skinned twi'lek cautiously muttered as Shepard quickly helped her to her feet.

"Here Commander, consider it a gift, nothing more." Padme said with a knowing wink as she handed Shepard a small credit chit like device and subtly gestured towards the shaken woman.

"Thank you Senator. Now let's see here, how much for the damages?" Shepard asked as she turned back to the shaken bartender.

The twi'lek woman was even more unnerved now as she noticed the crowd staring at them. "Um, it's alright, I don't want to cause any-"

Shepard didn't give the twi'lek time to finish her refusal as she glanced at the amount available, her emerald eyes widening ever so slightly. "Two thousand it is. And now, about your tip?"

"I ah- my tip?" If the twi'lek didn't look ready to faint before, she certainly did now at the unheard of generosity being offered.

"I heard two thousand again. Done. You drive a hard bargain." Shepard handed the device to the stunned twi'lek and watched as she input an amount on it and tapped it against a similar device she had retrieved from a vest pocket. "Pleasure doing business with you."

If Jack hadn't sobered already, she certainly did when she realized how much money Shepard had thrown around. "We don't have a credit line here Shepard, and you just gave Buffy the drink slinger four grand?!"

"Less talking. More picking crap up Jack. You to Grunt, get moving. Now." Jessica commanded a now sullen Jack and an ashamed looking Grunt. Well, as close as a krogan could get anyway. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What the hell now _Commander ma'am_?" Jack snarled as she managed not to glare at the dumbfounded bartender next to her.

"Apologize. And try to make it sound sincere."

"Now you're just pushing your luck Shepard."

"Just havin' some fun..." The rest of Grunt's statement dissolved into incoherent mumbling as Jack glared up at him. "Sorry."

"Fine. Sorry for wrecking your shit." Jack's brown eyes seethed with humiliation as she turned back to Shepard. "Happy now?"

"Yep. Now try to stay out of any _further _trouble. I'd rather not rack up a massive bill after only eight days in this galaxy." Jack muttered a curse but sat down as far from the others as she could. Grunt soon joined her and immediately passed out with his head on the table. "Sorry for the mess Senator Amidala, Master Kenobi."

"It's quite alright Commander. I'm just amazed by your people more than anything, and you." At Shepard's slightly surprised look, Padme explained herself. "They are an eclectic bunch, far more than most spacefaring crews I've ever seen, and yet they all look to you. It certainly gives credence to how far they've come while under your command."

"All that after a few minutes? I'm impressed. Guess that senatorial training of yours paid off huh?"

"Might I remind you that your spirited young companion nearly-"

Shepard was quick to wave him off as Obi-wan returned to his vacated seat. "Oh relax, you looked like you were actually having fun to me. Have a drink...I'll admit the selection is a bit more limited now, but I'm sure you'll find something to loosen that stick up your ass."

"A stick Commander? I've heard more creative phrases from a jawa." Despite his complaint, Kenobi sat back next to Padme and shook his head again as a smirk appeared on his lips again. "Very well, I'll admit it, it was a strangely exciting change of pace from my usual day."

"So, I'm guessing your offer is off the table Senator. My people _did _trash the bar after all. I don't even _want _to think about the havoc they're going to cause if you give them a building." Having the crew in her apartment for most of the day had been a mistake, and that had been for a simple party after they had taken down her evil clone. Shepard could only imagine the trouble they'd cause if they were forced to live in the same building for any length of time.

Padme chuckled as Shepard nervously rubbed at the back on her head. "Not that I was aware of Commander."

Before Shepard could comment, David stepped in. "I know we're people of action Shepard, but we've been at this for way too long. We're all tired, we all need some time to adjust, to get used to this strange, wondrous new place we find ourselves in. I'm not saying we won't get involved in local matters later, but let it come when it comes rather than look for trouble, like you've done for the past what, two years? Three? It's time to put our feet up and enjoy what we've been given." David then put a hand on the woman's shoulder and nodded his head in solemn understanding before he waved his hand to those that were within earshot. Shepard glanced at her friends, her family, and saw that they agreed with David's assessment. "As far as I'm concerned, our fight's over. We've earned some R & R countless times by now, it's time to simply enjoy it."

"Gotta hand it to the old fart Shep, he's got a point. Grunt... Grunt! Wake up!" Jack stated from across the room before nudging Grunt so he toppled onto his side on the floor. The heavy thump that followed didn't interrupt the krogan's drunken nap in the slightest. "Grunt's too hammered to notice much anyway."

"I have to agree with you sir." Samantha began, strolling over to the group with Captain Panaka, as she turned to David before focusing on Padme again, having been silent this whole time. "I want to know what we left behind, if we won, lost, or what. But I also just want to decompress, to enjoy the peace and tranquility out here. And you have a beautiful planet Senator Amidala." Traynor said as she leveled her gaze on Padme last. "I think I could get used to living out here. I'd love a chance to see the countryside if nothing else."

"I know what I'd like to do. Take one of those fancy ships I saw the other day for a test run." Joker said, the grin on his face a mile wide as he turned to EDI. "Those babies can move! The yellow and gunmetal gray paint job could go but I ain't picky."

"I get the feeling your intangible friend would 'borrow' one for you if you but asked Lt. Moreau" Kenobi stated, the familiar grin on his face matched only by the twinkle in his eyes.

Predictably as ever, Kasumi was quick to add her two credits into the conversation as she flickered into sight by Joker's right side. "Just say the word Joker. 'Starfighter'? Transport? I'm feeling particularly daring tonight. How would you like to take a cruiser for a test drive?"

"Nah, keep it simple Kasumi. You can steal a cruiser later."

"Alrighty. Not that I ever would...and get caught." Kasumi disappeared once more, leaving the group at large to laugh or shake their heads at the incorrigible thief.

"Why do _I _get the feeling my life just got a lot more interesting?" Padme asked, beating Obi-wan to the punch as she met Shepard's emerald gaze. Before she could answer, the Senator held up a hand. "Don't answer that. I just ask that you refrain from causing a diplomatic incident."

"I'll try to keep them contained." Shepard replied with a chuckle before adding, "If for no other reason than to keep your job from getting any harder Padme."

"Thank you Commander. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to give me a call." Shepard only nodded her head, hoping it wouldn't be required anytime soon as Padme offered her a small circular device. "Another gift. A holocomm linked to my secure channel." Shepard pocketed the device with a grateful nod of her head. She knew that Liara and Tali would make it truly secure before the week was over.

"Good day Commander, maybe we'll see each other again?" Obi-wan said as he followed Padme's example and got to his feet.

"Hopefully not _too _soon Kenobi." Jessica replied as she firmly shook his hand. "And good luck, getting your Padawan away from Tali on your way out. Fair warning. It's not going to be an easy fight."

The Knight's grin faltered as he remembered what Shepard had said about the quarian mechanic and engineer. He rubbed his chin in thought, hating his chances of getting Anakin away from her easily. "Oh dear, I had almost forgotten. I might need _your _help this time. You seem to command more allegiance from your people with a mere look than I could ever hope to attain."

"Not their allegiance Kenobi, their respect. I never wanted their blind loyalty. There's a galaxy of difference between the two, trust me." Shepard smirked at her own little morbid pun.

"How very true. Perhaps you'll share the whole story with me someday Commander. I'd wager it's quite a tale."

"You have no idea."

_End Notes; __**Nomad-117**__; I feel strange to be honest. A happy chapter, totally forgot how that feels like. Normally we are more serious or dark. Something akin to "Your doom awaits you!"_

_**Archer83**__; Yup. Well that turned out more light hearted and humorous than I was expecting._

_**Vergil1989**__; Oddly enough, we had considered going dark and depressing for this chapter, but we ended up going for a far more cheerful take, and I personally think we did a pretty good job. And to make it even more interesting, most of the crew seem to have accepted the idea that they've been given a break, for once. We'll start picking them off later. :P In all seriousness, we hope you've enjoyed the show guys and gals, and we'll go back and correct the mistakes made in the first chapter soon, promise. For now, leave those reviews we love so much and we'll see ya next time!_


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